Silent Snow
by Snowflakes01274
Summary: Page is an average, 16 year old girl when her life changes one day. Her father disappears, leaving only a note saying to go live with her cousins. When she reaches Ichigo's house, the adventure begins & she is thrown into a life of chaos as a shinigami.
1. Moving In

A long, dark street stretched on with only a few lamplights lit up. Dark houses loomed ahead, almost fading into the night. A few were lit up, lightly illuminating the street in light.

I walked down the street, getting spooked every now and then by random noises. As I reached a corner, I was about to take a right but I stopped. A little girl was sitting against a lamp post humming a song, and every now and then she would stop mid-hum and look at the little flower vase placed beside her. In the vase was a bouquet of tiny, baby blue perennials. I squatted down in front of her, watching her sing. She stopped mid-hum again, and as she glanced down at her vase, she noticed me. She jumped a little and stared at me curiously. I waved my hand lightly in greeting, smiling slightly at the girl as I took in her appearance.

She had brown pigtails that reached down to her shoulders, lightly touching them. She was wearing a white shirt with orange-pink stripes going across her shirt horizontally. She had on blue shorts with a pair of flip flops to complete her outfit.

The girl turned her head a little to the side like a puppy, and asked "Can you…see me?" Her voice was like a little bell, quiet but cheerful.

I nodded my head and spoke loudly. "Yep!"

The girl shuffled her feet nervously, glanced up at me, and said "Not many people can see me," she looked over at her flowers, "so I'm not used to it…"

I beamed at her and stood up from kneeling, walking up to the flowers. "So, who gave you the pretty flowers?"

Her eyes widened for a moment before glittering happily and she chirped "Ichigo gave them to me!"

It was my turn to turn my head to the side slightly. I looked at her curiously and spoke in a nonchalant manner. "Is he this tall," I raised my hand up as far as I could reach, which isn't very far because I'm short, "has spiky, orange hair and chocolate brown eyes?"

The girl beamed and nodded, but stopped after a moment and spoke up with a grin. "Ichigo is taller than that!"

I was annoyed. _'He's even taller?'_ I pushed my shoulder length, midnight black hair to the side in frustration, black strands that got loose lightly fell over my eyes. I put up a fake smile and asked. "Do you know where Ichigo's house is? I'm kinda lost!" I rubbed the back of my head, embarrassed over my predicament.

She leapt up to her feet and pointed around the corner she was on, to the left. "Go down the street a little and take a right at that stop sign. He should live around two or three houses down that street on the right."

I nodded my thanks but I couldn't resist asking. "But how do you know where to go if you're…" I trailed off, suddenly feeling uncomfortable talking to the spirit.

Luckily though, she finished the sentence for me "Stuck here?" I nodded and she huffed indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. "Is there something wrong with me asking him?" I shook my head hurriedly and waved goodbye as I walked away quickly.

It took me a few minutes to follow her directions before I walked up to Ichigo's tan house. As I walked past the front, above two glass doors, a sign read Internal Medicine Pediatrics Kurosaki Clinic. I walked past their clinic doors and around a bend into a driveway with two parking lots. I walked up to the brown gate and pushed open one of its sides and walked up the sidewalk to the door. I rang the doorbell and stood there patiently for a few seconds until I heard a noise.

A loud shout could be heard from above my head and I looked up to see a dark shape on the balcony. It leapt off and hollered "Page~!" I nimbly stepped out of the way as the shape crashed onto the ground, the figure was sprawled out. I blinked in surprise and leaned forward, muttering, "Uncle Isshin…?" The figure leaped up from their position and I looked at them.

A tall man in his forties hovered over me. He had dark brown hair that slightly spiked in the front and dark, chocolate brown eyes. He was in tan pants with a white jacket covering a large, green t-shirt that said in black lettering 'I'm big, I'm bad, and I'm an awesome Dad!' His eyes were wet with happy tears as he attempted to give me a huge hug.

I sighed and, after dodging a few times from his embrace, let him hug me, watching as more figures came to the door. A small girl with short, light brown hair and similar chocolate brown eyes stepped up to the door. She wore a green hooded sweatshirt and a white cooking apron. She also wore a red hairclip on the left side of her head. Another girl with short, black hair came up behind her with an indifferent look upon her face. She was wearing a white t-shirt with short, black sleeves on it and crimson red shorts.

After a few seconds, I couldn't breathe well from my uncle's death hug. My face slowly started to turn purple as I attempted to gasp for breath. I sent a pleading look over to the girls at the doorway as I tried to pry myself away.

The indifferent girl sighed as Isshin continued to fawn over me, oblivious to my suffocating. "Dad, you do realize she can't breathe right? Oh yeah, by the way, hi Page. Long time no see."

Isshin continued hugging me happily, seemingly in his own world as he took in another 'daughter' of his own.

The blonde girl shuffled nervously, gripping her cooking spoon tightly as she shouted "Dad let her go!" Isshin finally released me and I took a deep inhale of breath, filling my lungs that were practically screaming for air.

After a few moments of inhaling and exhaling, I looked up and smiled cheerily at the girls in front of me. I looked towards the relaxed, dark haired girl. "Hey Karin, sup?" and turned to the blonde with a thankful look. "Thanks Yuzu, you saved me there." I walked up to them and Yuzu hugged me tightly while Karin friendlily patted me on the shoulder. Suddenly, I smelled cooking inside and my mouth instantly watered. I haven't eaten since I left my house, which was eight hours away!

My stomach growled loudly and my cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. Yuzu giggled. "Do you want to have dinner with us?"

I nodded hastily in agreement, my small blush slowly fading as I beamed. "I would love to!"

Karin let out a large sigh. "Can we just go in now, this atmosphere feels kinda awkward." I laughed loudly, and we walked inside with Isshin trailing behind us silently like a lost puppy.

The walls were a creamy white color and the floor was a shiny, dark brown, wooden floor. As we entered the hallway, on the immediate right was the kitchen, and on the left was the living room, which had a small sofa, a little T.V. and a coffee table that was only around two or three feet high.

Without a second glance, I walked straight into the kitchen. A medium sized, light brown table sat in the middle of the room with a wooden counter on the side, behind that counter was another counter that held a black microwave with a toaster sitting beside it. Above it were four little glass cabinets that held all the dishes and a little drawer was underneath it, most likely holding cooking utensils because all the way to the left was a large pot on a stainless steel stove.

Isshin continued to trail after me silently while Yuzu went up to the pot and took a bowl. Karin sat down comfortably at the table. I realized they were about to eat when I came to their home because Yuzu served six bowls. I blinked in confusion. _'Six…?' _I thought quietly to myself. Curious, I asked, "Yuzu, why is there six bowls? There's only Uncle Isshin, you, Karin, Ichigo, and I eating," I was counting off the names on my fingers and realized, "by the way, where is Ichigo?"

Isshin chuckled a little bit and made his presence known as he spoke. "He's upstairs, with his friend that's staying over for the night, dinner's ready though, so they should be coming down soon."

I grinned happily. "I can go get them!" Before anyone said anything, I started heading upstairs.

Once I reached the top, I took a right into Ichigo's room and froze in surprise. A short girl (I always focus on heights since a lot of people tease me about my height) with short black hair and dark eyes stood before me. She was wearing the school uniform from what looked like Ichigo's school. But that's not what shocked me. What startled me was that Ichigo, my tall, spiky, orange-haired cousin, was slumped down on the ground with the girl's foot on his head.

I watched them in confusion as the girl shoved a piece of paper in front of his face and shouted "My drawings are superb! How dare you insult them?"

Ichigo mumbled "All I said was that you needed drawing lessons…" as he struggled to get up. But the girl wouldn't let him rise. Instead, she pushed his head closer to the ground and continued to yell at him in a rage.

I cleared my throat, still staring at the odd events happening in front of me. The girl looked up and noticed me, then looked back down at my cousin, who was still face-down on the ground. "Ichigo, who is this?"

She lifted her foot off of his head and he sat up with his legs crossed, rubbing his head in pain. He glanced up at me and lifted his hand in greeting. "Hey Page."

I blinked a couple of times, still in slight shock, and replied "Hey Ichigo, who's this?"

He nonchalantly stood up and gestured at the girl. "This is Rukia, a friend of mine; she doesn't have a place to stay so she's staying at our house."

I nodded and jerked my thumb behind me, pointing towards the hall. "Dinner's ready." Ichigo and Rukia followed me downstairs and we had beef stew. While we ate, we chatted about random things and basically caught up, though the girl, Rukia, ate quietly and didn't speak much.

Ichigo went back to his room and, after excusing herself politely, Rukia followed. I looked towards Isshin, "Where can I sleep tonight?"

Before he could answer, Karin hastily grabbed my arm and led me upstairs. We walked past Ichigo's room and went to the next door. She grabbed the handle and swung the door open. Inside was a neat room, with a desk near the window and a bed on the right side of the room. Across from the bed, a dresser stood with tiny, intricate carvings of vines curling along the edges of the wood. About four or five feet away from it, a tiny closet was open, empty on the inside. Little accessories decorated the room, like a small radio on the desk and a little T.V. that hung across the room from my bed. A phone was placed on the desk also, along with an alarm clock that said it was 10:30 p.m.

I thanked Karin as she left and shut the door lightly behind her, leaving it about half a foot open. It took me about ten minutes to unpack the small amount of stuff I brought with me and I plopped onto the bed with a sigh escaping my lips.

I thought about the recent things that have happened to me. My dad disappeared, leaving a note saying to stay over Uncle Isshin's house. Usually he tells me when he's going away, though I don't know where he disappears to. I asked him about it once, but he merely dodged the question and changed the subject.

I normally only visit my relatives once, maybe twice, a year. Each time I visit them, Ichigo is taller than the time before. He teases me about my height which is, last time I checked, about up to his chest. I'm 4'4" and…well, Ichigo caught me reading a book once on how, if you sleep well, you'll grow. I swear I think that was one of the most embarrassing moments in my life, and that was the turning point when he started teasing me endlessly about my height. Even though I was his age, sixteen, he would walk up to me and ruffle my hair playfully as if I was a little kid! I was still thinking about strawberries and my height when I slowly fell asleep in my bed.


	2. Nighttime Visit

*Rukia's P.O.V.*

Rukia woke up in the middle of the night shivering. She threw one more blanket over herself and tried to go back to sleep, but the cold easily seeped through her covers. Throwing the covers off, she quietly opened the closet she was sleeping in and tiptoed out.

Ichigo was breathing evenly, seemingly unaffected by the chilly air. She tiptoed outside the room to follow where the drafts were coming from, planning to close whatever window someone left open. Rukia stopped outside of Ichigo's cousin's room…Page was it? The cold was coming through the door that was slightly open. She pushed it open wide and was blasted by the chilling air.

She looked around the room and realized that all the windows were closed. The cold air seemed to pulse around her as she stepped into the room. Rukia looked towards the bed where Page was sleeping soundly with no blankets over her. She noticed how the girl didn't shiver at all but instead she was calmly breathing in and out as she slept. Rukia walked closer to her and came to a shocking realization. _'This isn't just any cold air, this is reiatsu!' _She shook the girl but she barely stirred. Shaking her harder, Page grumbled and opened her eyes.

Seeing Rukia in front of her, Page slowly mumbled. "Rukia…?"

Rukia nodded and gestured at the covers that Page was sleeping on top of. But she merely shook her head and yawned. "Too late, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I can't fall back asleep for a while."

"But…isn't it cold in here?" The reiatsu was still everywhere. Page tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What? I don't feel cold…"

Rukia was about to answer her when her hollow finder started beeping. She took it out of her pajama pocket and looked down at it. There was a hollow a few blocks away. "Well, uh, I'm going back to bed I guess…I thought I should have just checked in on you…later!" She left the room hurriedly, leaving behind the confused girl, and headed towards Ichigo's room.

*Page's P.O.V.*

I felt sluggish as I pushed myself off of my bed. Wobbling slightly, I took a few shaky steps forward as I slowly woke up. I followed Rukia to Ichigo's room and watched as she ran in and shoved Ichigo off the bed. A loud 'Thud!' resounded around the room as Ichigo shouted in surprise, waking up immediately. He complained "What the hell Rukia, I was–"

Rukia cut him off. "There's a hollow a few blocks away, let's go!"

Ichigo mumbled something sleepily and grabbed an object from his desk that was letting out a shrill sounding alarm. Ichigo took a breath, closed his eyes, and fell. My eyes widened as Ichigo hit the ground. Another Ichigo stood next to his body, clothed in a black shihakusho with a white sash around his waist, and a _huge_ sword on his back. He nodded at Rukia and they both jumped out the window. I closed my mouth after a few moments, which had dropped open in shock, and I came out of my hiding place.

I walked up to Ichigo's body, which lay crumpled on the floor, and bent down. He was still holding on to the object with its alarm going off. I pried it from his fingers carefully and took a closer look at it. It was a brown badge with a large skull on it. Each time the alarm rang, its eyes would light up yellow. I brought it closer to my face looking at it flashing and– "Oi! Ichigo! What's with all the racket?"

I turned around quickly and saw the most bizarre thing ever. A little lion stuffed animal was standing there talking…no, shouting would be a more appropriate word. He threw the closet door open and as soon as he saw me – it sounded like a he – he fell lifelessly to the floor.

I tentatively stepped towards the stuffed animal, as I got closer I saw anxious sweat rolling down the back of its head, which had a blue cross on it. I poked it with my foot. It didn't move. I stepped on it. Its tail slightly twitched. I began rubbing it into the floor with my foot, squashing it. He exploded in fury. "Oi! Watch what you're doing! Only nee-san can do that–" I stopped and lifted my foot away from the stuffed animal which was now facing up towards me with a glare. His expression changed almost instantaneously, however, when he looked up. "Nice view!"

It took me a moment to realize what he meant. I was only wearing a light blue nightdress that came down almost to my knees. Blushing furiously, I stomped my foot down on his face as he objected. "Ah! The stuffing! It's coming out! Stop~!"

I gritted my teeth and hissed out. "Stupid, perverted, stuffed animal!"

After a minute, I grinned wickedly, my vengeance now carried out. I sat down facing him, grabbing him by the tail as I lifted him up. He was punching and kicking in the air. "Put me down!"

I stared at him and, ignoring his outburst, began the interrogation. "How are you talking? Answer me!"

He folded his arms, a smug look on his face. "Nope, not gonna tell ya." I threw him against the wall as hard as I could throw and he hit it with a loud 'Squeak!' But as he fell, a little green pill-looking thing fell out of his mouth. I sat there and looked at him, but he wasn't moving again. Frowning, I stood up. "If this another trick or you're acting, you're so dead."

I moved over to the now still stuffed animal and picked up the little green pill and studied it. It was smaller than the tip of my pinky and it didn't smell like anything. I put it in my mouth, slowly starting to think it was candy or something, and swallowed after a few moments of hesitation.

A loud noise sounded around me and I fell on my butt. I looked up after wincing from the slight pain and froze in my tracks. There I stood, blinking bemusedly. I looked down at my hands, then looked back up to see…well, _me_ in front of me. I leapt to my feet, shock clearly on my face "What the hell?"

My body looked back at me, looked at themselves, and then grinned. "Cool! But wait, not cool…Ichigo is gonna be pissed!"

'_Wait a second,'_ I thought, "what the heck! Why are you in my body! And if that's my body, then what am I in right now?"

"You're in your soul form" he replied simply, as if that explained everything. He seemed to think for a moment, "I guess a better way to say it is that you're in a sort of death-like state."

My eyes widened in shock, _'A death-like state? What does that mean? Am I dead? This can't be happening…It can't be happening…' _ My vision was slowly becoming blurry and I wavered on my feet, feeling dizzy, before passing out.


	3. Another Blackout!

*Rukia's P.O.V.*

After jumping across numerous balconies, Ichigo and Rukia landed in a pitch black street. The soul pager's tracker pointed to this street but, without the moon in sight, they couldn't see anything.

The pager beeped louder and a roar echoed in the crisp night air. Ichigo looked around furiously, swinging his head back and forth, but he was as blind in the darkness as she was. Suddenly, a figure appeared behind Ichigo and, before she could shout a warning, swung at him and he flew into a wall.

Rukia winced as he came out of the rubble and grabbed his zanpakuto, Zangetsu. He swung it down in front of him and the blade glistened in the slowly brightening street corner.

The hollow was a huge, purple scorpion that was around sixteen feet long. Its tail swung rhythmically back and forth, the tip razor sharp and dripping with poison. It hissed and clicked its tongue before roaring again and charging at Ichigo on its six legs.

Crouching for a second, Ichigo leaped up and slashed downward. The hollow froze when the blade cut it in half, and slowly its spirit particles dissolved into the night air. Ichigo sighed as he swung Zangetsu onto his back and turned to Rukia. "Is there any others around?" She checked the pager; it was quiet and had a blank screen. She shook her head and they started heading back towards the house.

"I…have a bad feeling" Ichigo suddenly said. She didn't understand what he meant until she was blasted with a freezing spiritual pressure that brought her to her knees. Ichigo merely stumbled in surprise and turned back to Rukia, who was on the ground slightly gasping for air.

'_What…is…this…spiritual pressure? Is it Hitsugaya-taicho's? Wait, no, I felt this recently, it's…' _Rukia shouted as loud as she could to Ichigo. "Ichigo! Go to your house and…" she took a deep breath, "save Page!"

Ichigo blinked in confusion and rubbed the back of his head. "Huh? What're you talking–?" She cut him off mid-sentence. "Go!" He scowled but started running away towards his house. He leapt onto a roof and used shunpo, disappearing from view.

Slowly turning over, Rukia stared at the moon. "What…happened?" Small puffs were let out into the cool air around her as she exhaled. _'Ichigo, whatever happened…save your cousin. This isn't supposed to happen…even with you…it wasn't this strong!'_

*Ichigo's P.O.V.*

Ichigo scowled as he leaped from roof to roof, occasionally flash stepping. "What could have caused Rukia to get all hyped up? This is just…" He furrowed his eyebrows, concentrating hard. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at containing, let alone tracking, spiritual pressure. He swore in frustration, unable to concentrate hard enough to sense whose spiritual pressure it was. Either way, it still felt unfamiliar as it pulsed through the air in waves, slowing him down a bit as he leaped onto the last roof and jumped through his window.

What he saw confused him for a second before he realized that his cousin was passed out on the floor, in spirit form, while Kon was freaking out in her body looking like he was having a heart attack.

Ichigo cursed under his breath silently and gritted his teeth. "Kon, what happened?" Kon finally noticed him and tried to have a cool demeanor. He failed as he stuttered out. "I-Ichigo! I w-was just…Ah hell, Ichigo! It's not my fault!"

He was getting annoyed on top of being worried as he watched Kon take a deep breath and answer him. "I fell out of the plushy and she thought I was…candy," he shuddered at the thought, "she swallowed me and went into her soul form and passed out." Kon finished and took a breath. Ichigo blinked his eyes a couple of times in confusion then relaxed. "So, all we have to do is get her back into her body."

Kon nodded hesitantly in agreement. Ichigo took his substitute soul reaper badge and hit Page – or at least he hit Kon in Page's body – in the stomach. Kon fell out of her mouth in his gikogan form and into his hand. Page's body fell lifelessly to the floor with a large 'Thud!' and he gently picked her soul form up and placed her in her body. Or he attempted to at least. As soon as the body and soul made contact, the soul pushed away from the body in rejection.

He was starting to get cold and out of the corner of his eyes he saw ice creeping slowly up the walls. Ichigo laid Page down carefully and stood up. _'What is going on? I don't know what to do…' _ He hesitated. _'I hate to say this…but I might have to call Hat and Clogs.' _He scowled angrily. _'This is for Page, not me!' _

He attempted to rush towards his cell phone on his desk but slipped on a thick layer of black ice and fell, landing on his back and hitting his head on the ice. "Shit…" he murmured, getting up and this time carefully walking towards the phone. Grabbing it, he flipped it open and started dialing the number.

It rang a few times until he heard a happy voice on the other end. "Hello? Urahara Shoten!"

Ichigo clenched his fists tightly and took a deep breath. "Hat and Clogs…I need your help…"

Urahara exchanged his cheerful tone for a more serious one on the other end. "Is it about this spiritual pressure I'm feeling?"

Ichigo nodded in verification of the question but, realizing Urahara couldn't see him, answered. "Yeah, my cousin Page…" Suddenly his vision faded out and he slid down the side of his desk and slumped to the floor. "I must've hit my head harder than I thought…" he muttered right before blackness slowly started to come to him.

Then, right before he passed out, he heard Urahara's cheerful voice on the other end of the phone. "Don't worry, Kurosaki-san, I'll be right over!"

The phone slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor as he blacked out.


	4. Inner World

*Page's P.O.V.*

I couldn't tell where I was. Heck, I don't even know how I got here. One moment I was in Ichigo's room, and the next I ended up in a huge expanse of land covered in snow. I looked around me and saw large snowflakes slowly dancing through the skies as they made their slow descent towards the ground. I reached out and caught one in the palm of my hand, and watched it curiously. It didn't melt, but instead it formed into a small pile of snow as more snowflakes piled on top of the bottom one. I looked up towards the sky and squinted.

Though this place seemed cool and all, I still had no clue where I was. I spun in a full circle, looking for some sign of life, but found none. I suddenly realized I was still just wearing my nightdress and I wasn't cold at all. And, now that I think about it, aren't snowflakes supposed to melt in your hand? I lay down in the oddly warm snow, and wondered what to do. Lying there, I started to doze off before a harsh wind picked up around me, throwing the snow everywhere.

I threw up my arms to ward off the snow from my eyes as the wind howled around me. The snowflakes were flying around in every direction, and I couldn't see more than an inch in front of me. I heard a loud, ferocious roar above the wind but couldn't tell which direction it came from as it echoed all around me. As fast as the wind picked up, it died down and the snow settled down on the ground once more as I saw the large shape glide over to me.

The air cleared and a huge tiger that was around eight feet tall stood before me. Icy, piercing blue eyes with white whiskers framed its face. It had a bulky, white body with black stripes that ran in all directions across its fur in patterns. I stared at it, fear grabbing my heart and holding it in its tight grip. It looked down at me and stood there quietly, as if expecting me to act.

My legs seemed to have a mind of their own as I walked forward towards the beast, the fear I felt for it slowly dissolving the closer I came to it. I stood before the tiger and reached out to pet its fur. It didn't move as I stroked its chest, the soft fur moving beneath my fingertips as it breathed. A voice echoed through the air and reached my ears. "We meet at last." I blinked and looked around in confusion, but my mind already knew that it was the tiger that spoke.

I stared up at the animal, still petting it, and spoke as I tried to figure out how it talked. "Who…are you?"

Its mouth twitched and the same voice echoed around. "I am a part of your soul."

"So…you are…me?"

Its crystal-like eyes flashed in surprise and then in annoyance. "No…I am my own self, we are just connected by your soul."

"I see…" I didn't really see though, I was confused.

The tiger lie down upon the snow and put its head down, eyes still locked on mine. "I am your zanpakuto, young one."

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes, my name is…" Its words became muffled, and I couldn't hear what it said.

"What? I can't hear you!" I tried to catch what it said again, but as soon as it tried to say its name, it came out muffled and unclear.

"I see…" the tiger purred, its eyes closing, "we are not fully connected yet."

"What is a zanpakuto?" I felt like I was asking too many questions, but curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask. "And, not to be rude, but are you a male or a female?"

The tiger growled; its voice was deep as its tail batted the ground. "I am a male, of course!" he went on, eyes opening slowly as he took me in his gaze once again, "zanpakuto are the weapons shinigami use, each zanpakuto is unique with its own powers and are separate entities from the wielder, though the zanpakuto and its wielder work together in battles. A zanpakuto is generally used to slay hollows, send pluses to Soul Society, and each zanpakuto can transform itself into more powerful forms." Seeing me throw him a confused look, he explained further. "A plus is the spirit of a person who died. Normally when a plus dies, they leave the Real world without any regrets and go to Soul Society, a place where most souls and shinigami dwell. However, before pluses can go to Soul Society, a soul burial must be performed. Zanpakuto are needed in soul burials, for their powers are used to send the plus to Soul Society. If a plus has regrets it becomes an Earth-bound Spirit, which is harder to perform soul burial on. Each plus has a Chain of Fate, which is what binds them to their physical body. If the chain of fate is broken, corrosion will take place at the end of it causing a gradual process of Hollow transformation. Hollows are former pluses that lose their hearts to despair or remain in the Real world for too long. A shinigami's job is to slay Hollows; their zanpakuto can purify the soul of the Hollow and send them to Soul Society as normal souls once the Hollow is slain."

"I don't think I'll be able to remember all of that."

The tiger chuckled, causing the earth beneath them to slightly tremor. "You'll understand in time, cub."

"My name's Page, you know…"

The tiger's eyes sparkled in humor. "I shall refer to you as I please."

I sighed as I gave in, looking to sky again. "Whatever…" I looked back over to him, "when will I learn your name?"

He stood up and stretched, letting out a loud yawn as he exposed his fangs. "When the time is right, we will become fully connected and be able to converse more." He looked down at me, his eyes becoming serious. "I can feel that the time for you to learn my name is fast approaching." Flicking his tail again, he turned around and walked away, calling back over his shoulder. "Until we meet again, cub!"

"Wait! I don't know how to get back–" As soon as I said that, the world around me disappeared and I was thrust into darkness again.


	5. The Training Room

Light seemed to creep under my eyelids as I woke up. I opened my eyes sleepily, saw that I was in an unfamiliar room, and quickly sat up. Other than me in it, the room was empty. I was still in my nightdress, but sunlight was streaming in through a window indicating it was daytime. Gathering my wits together, I stood up and strode towards the exit.

Grabbing the sliding door, I pushed it aside and walked through it. I turned to the right and crashed into someone. I slipped and fell, but didn't hit the floor as the person in front of me grabbed my wrist and hauled me up. I stared up at them and took in what they looked like.

A middle-aged man with messy, light-blond colored hair and gray eyes was standing in front of me. He had on a green and white striped bucket hat and traditional Japanese wooden sandals. He was wearing dark green pants with a matching dark green shirt and a dark grayish-green coat, holding a cane in his hand for support. After helping me regain my balance, he let go of my hand and took out a fan, hiding his face behind it as he grinned. "I see my guest has woken up! Welcome to the Urahara Shoten!"

I decided to be polite and bowed, introducing myself. "I'm sorry to disturb you, I'm Suzuki Page…" I hesitated before adding, "What am I doing here?"

Urahara's eyes sparkled merrily and he answered cheerfully. "Your cousin, Ichigo, called me to help him with a little problem!" His eyes widened. "How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself! I am Urahara Kisuke, owner of this wonderful little shop!" He turned around and walked away, the sound of his cane hitting the floor echoing behind him.

Pausing for a moment in contemplation, I decided to follow the shopkeeper and quickly caught up to him. He turned a few corners and then stopped. Bending down, he lifted up a trapdoor and then stepped aside. "Ladies first!"

I stepped forward and looked down into the hole. A huge ladder descended down into a sunny enclosure. It was a rocky, dry-looking area that seemed to spread for miles. The ladder went all the way to the ground, which was at least a hundred feet below us. I grabbed the ladder and stepped down. After going down a few feet, I saw Urahara start to come down after me. I quickened my pace and kept staring upwards. A ceiling that looked like the sky on a cloudy day hung over us, and it looked so realistic that it took my breath away.

"This place is amazing!" I sighed as I kept climbing down.

"Why of course, it took me a day and a night to create this!" Urahara seemed pleased that I was appreciating his work.

I was breathless when I finally reached the bottom, Urahara arriving next to me moments afterwards. He continued on his way, walking around a huge rocky cliff. "How could you make this place so fast? Scratch that; how does it look so real?"

"With the technology Soul Society has, this wasn't hard to make!" Urahara kept moving along for a few steps before he stopped, waving his fan in front of his face to hide a sly smile. "Oh dear me, I didn't mean for that to get out! Ah well, you'll know in good time anyway, so I suppose it doesn't matter as much, Kurosaki-san."

"It's Page, please skip the formalities." I stopped in my tracks. "Soul Society…that rings a bell…"

Urahara spun around, his grin still hidden. "Really now, and where might you have heard about it?"

I wracked my brain for a second and remembered. "The tiger mentioned it. He said that it's where most of the shinigami and souls live." I looked up at Urahara now. "He also said he was my…zanpakuto?"

Urahara's eyes brightened and he seemed surprised and at the same time excited by the news. "I see, I see…and what might your zanpakuto's name be? Or were you unable to hear it yet?"

"He said that we aren't fully connected yet, so I couldn't hear his name. And he also mentioned that-" I thought hard, trying to bring the conversation back to mind, "-the time that my soul will become fully connected with him is coming soon."

Urahara let a chuckle escape his lips before he twisted around without another word and began walking again. He called out behind his shoulder, continuing the conversation. "I'm glad to hear that! That makes this a lot easier. Ichigo had a bit more problems with his zanpakuto than you did, and an incident which cost him to lose all his powers, but he pulled through nonetheless." He moved around another cliff and stopped. "We're here."

'_Wait, if Ichigo has a zanpakuto, than that means…he has shinigami powers? There's no way…' _I looked up, my eyes following the direction he was looking at, and exhaled in surprise.

Ichigo was pacing back and forth up ahead looking annoyed and anxious, not noticing us walking towards him. A boy with short, red hair was teasing a small girl with black hair pulled into two pigtails. Standing beside the children was a tall man who wore a pair of glasses and had a serious face. The group of people seemed to waiting for us, and as Urahara cleared his throat to make our presence known, four pairs of eyes locked on me.

The boy sniffed disdainfully. "_This _is the girl you were talking about? I bet there isn't a drop of spiritual power in her!"

I glared at him angrily; he hit a nerve. Nobody messes with me and gets away with it. I strode confidently up to the boy who was a few inches shorter than me, grabbed him in a headlock, and hissed into his ear. "You wanna mess with me punk? Even if I don't have any of this 'spiritual power' nonsense, I can still kick your ass!" I was furious, and as he struggled in my arms screaming obscenities, I smirked. "Anytime you want to fight, just give me a call!"

The boy grabbed my arm and bit into it. I shouted and released my grip automatically, holding my arm and squeezing my eyes shut in pain. He spat on the ground, his voice was deep as he muttered. "Disgusting," he glared at me, "Bring it! I can easily beat you! You're weak as hell I bet!" He looked a bit unsure though as he rubbed the sore spot on his neck where I held him in a headlock.

Urahara stepped in between us at that moment. "Now now, no fighting! Kurosaki-san–" I threw him a look and he smiled sheepishly, "–I mean Page is here for training! Calm down Jinta."

Jinta went silent, sulking back over to the girl. Once he reached her he huffed and sat down in the dirt, crossing his legs as he continued to glare daggers at me.

I cast my gaze over to Urahara. "Training to do what?"

A voice clearly spoke, echoing around the huge room. "It's training to become a shinigami."

I looked over towards the speaker, Ichigo.

Ichigo was scowling, looking like he was in a bad mood.

I tilted my head to the side curiously. "How do you do that…? And are these shinigami…really real?"

This made Ichigo smirk. "They're as real as I am."

I hesitated slightly before asking another question. "Eh…? But how would I become a shinigami?"

Urahara stepped into the conversation. "I'll explain the way to do that in a moment. However, time is running short and I'm afraid that if you don't hurry, you may die soon."

I froze in place. _'Did he just say die?' _

Ichigo's scowl came back. "I don't like this Hat and Clogs…I barely made it out, and I have a Hollow in me now! What if my cousin fails? I'm not having her die just because of her trying to become a shinigami!"

Urahara tried to reassure Ichigo. "Kurosaki-san, that is a risk we will have to take! It is too late, the process has already started!" he paused, a look of bewilderment passing over his face, "Oddly, her Chain of Fate has been broken. The reason for this event to happen is unbeknownst to me. And she can't return to her physical body anymore unless she succeeds!"

I intercepted Ichigo, who was about to snap back at Urahara, as I began to panic. "Whoa…wait a second! The tiger, my zanpakuto or whatever, told me that if a Chain of Fate is broken, that corrosion will start at the end of it, starting the process of 'Hollow transformation'! Does that mean I'll turn into a soul that has given into despair or something?"

Urahara looked impressed. "Your zanpakuto has informed you of many things I see. Well in this lesson, it relies entirely on the force of your will, focusing on gaining shinigami powers. Your Chain of Fate, as you said, starts corrosion as soon as it is broken. However, it has already been broken. Normally encroachment, which is the term of when a plus begins the process of becoming a Hollow, takes seventy-two hours, or three days, until it is complete. But your Chain of Fate broke twelve hours ago, when you passed out, leaving you only sixty hours to become a shinigami. If you fail to become one and you turn into a Hollow, I will be forced to kill you."

My eyes widened. There was no choice in the matter. "But I'm not a plus!"

Urahara pointed straight at me with his cane, his eyes wide in surprise. "You haven't noticed it yet? You are in soul form."

I looked down and a chain seemed to pop out of nowhere into my vision. It was directly attached to my chest. I swallowed nervously. "So how exactly does this 'will to become a shinigami' thing work?" I saw Ichigo tense in the background, ready to argue against Urahara again. "Also…if I really have no choice in the matter except do it or die, I guess I can try."

Urahara beamed and gestured to the man with glasses. "Tessai, if you will."

The serious man nodded and grabbed onto me.

I freaked out, flailing my arms back and forth trying to escape his strong grasp. The harder I fought, however, the stronger his grip on me was.

Ichigo seemed to be fighting with himself over what to do, but in the end stood there with a helpless look on his face, muttering a quick 'good luck' to me. Urahara lifted his fan, and the dirt that I stood on suddenly disappeared. I shrieked, grabbing thin air, as Tessai and I fell down a deep hole.

It took about ten seconds to reach the bottom, and fortunately the man somehow managed to make us avoid a painful impact with the hard dirt. He released his grasp around me and went into a corner, mumbling a bunch of weird nonsense. Some type of restraint wrapped around my arms, forcing them behind my back. I glared around the tiny space, unsure. "What's this all about?"

Urahara called from up above. "The name of this lesson is Shattered Shaft, for this lesson you need to become a shinigami and get out of the shaft before the time limit runs out! Your arms will be bound for this lesson!"

I looked up at him with a piercing look. _'My arms will be bound for this lesson…? Thanks for stating the obvious!'_ I heard crunching sounds coming from below me and looked down. The end of my chain had mouths on it, quickly eating the link before it. "What the hell is this?" I panicked, struggling around hopelessly. The mouths finished eating the link and swallowed, disappearing after a second. I stood up slowly, unused to the feeling of having my arms behind my back. "I don't know what to do!"

I was starting to lose hope when I heard Ichigo above me curse and look down to say something. "Page, if you faint, or something happens and you end up in…" he paused, unsure of how to explain something, "some different kind of world, look for the red ribbon!"

'_Has he gone crazy…?' _I stared at him, bemused. "You're kidding right? I'm in a death crisis, and you tell me to look for a red ribbon? What the hell Ichigo?"

Ichigo seemed desperate for me to understand. "You have to find your zanpakuto in your inner world! It happened to me while I was down there; I was sent into my inner world and was told to find my shinigami powers inside of a box! It's impossible if you don't look for the red ribbon, because there are thousands of boxes!" He sounded like he was rambling now, unsure of how to keep my attention focused on him and to understand the importance of his words. "Please…Page, it may sound strange now but," his voice slightly cracked, "I don't know how to explain it…it's just…dammit! Just look for the red ribbon, you hear me?"

I nodded hesitantly. Sure he sounded like he was crazy, but heck, he was worried! "Thanks Ichi! I'll keep that in mind!" He seemed to relax a little, but his grip on the edge of the hole didn't slacken.

I walked towards the wall and studied it. It looked like it would be impossible to climb up out of unless I had some magic trick up my sleeve, which I unfortunately don't have. I scowled at the wall and moved to kick it when I heard crunching sounds. The chain had started corroding again. A blast of pain hit me and I fell to the ground with a loud cry. Pain racked my body, making even the tiniest of movements sending waves of pain throughout me. I breathed slowly, trying to wait it out until the mouths took another break. Finally it came about four minutes later and the pain was now dull and hardly noticeable.

Time seemed to move by slowly as the mouths continued eating up my Chain of Fate. After many gruesome moments, I lay there panting. My sides ached from constant abuse.

I heard the red-headed brat shout from up above me. "Are you hungry yet?" But Ichigo yelled at him, telling him to not make me any more worried. Urahara was nowhere to be found, and I truly didn't care. Tessai sat in the same position that he sat in when we first fell down here, which seemed like years ago.

The little girl ran down the shaft, landing perfectly on her feet once she reached the bottom. She stood in front of me, digging her toe in the dirt shyly. "Page-san, it has been seventy-one hours since your chain broke. You only have an hour left before you turn into a hollow…" She shook her head. "I'm sure you can make it, Page-san! Your cousin made it out at the last second and–"

I interrupted her with a bright smile. "Thanks for the encouragement, I'll try my best! By the way, I don't think I've heard your name…?"

"It's Ururu." The girl smiled timidly, turning back towards the wall. "Kisuke-san told me to not stay in here for long, because you…" she stopped for a moment, uncertain, before continuing, "could turn into a hollow any time now, and that it's dangerous."

Nodding my head, I said goodbye and she ran back up the wall. I sighed unhappily. I only had an hour left to somehow gain shinigami powers or else I turn into some monster and then die straight afterwards. How depressing. If Ichigo managed to get out at the last moment, then I should make it out fine too though, right? Then I'll fight with every bit of my willpower, if that is what is needed to succeed in this!

The crunching sounds came again, though this time a lot louder than any of the other times. I shot a look down at them and cried out in shock. The entire chain had mouths all on it, flinging about this way and that. Suddenly, the chain's links started disappearing one by one, until none were left. A huge gaping hole was left in my chest, and I choked back a scream as tears started pouring out of my eyes. But I soon saw that they were not tears, but a pale liquid that started pouring outwards into the open air. The same liquid started pouring out of my mouth, and together they started covering my face as I tried to fight back in any way I could, though it all seemed hopeless in those moments.

Ichigo shouted from above in alarm. "Urahara, we have to help her! Something's happening and–"

Urahara's voice came closer as he walked to the edge of the shaft, standing right beside Ichigo. "We cannot help her, Kurosaki-san. She still has a chance to become a shinigami and save herself. This is her only chance, and this is the same thing that happened to you, remember?"

"That was different Urahara! She's going to turn into a hollow at this rate and…" he looked down at me, changing his mind, "Oi, Page! Don't you die on me! Remember; look for the red ribbon, the red one!"

His words seemed like nonsense to me as pain came over me completely, causing me to scream bloody murder. My screams continued, echoing all over the walls around me, but they were slowly becoming more distant, as I seemed to go deep inside of myself.

**/**

**First author's note! I serious have to stop with blackouts, fainting, and whatnot. It happens too often, usually at the end of a chapter. So, I thought I might as well say that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, review~!**


	6. Zanpakuto

It was snowing peacefully in my inner world, just like it was my first visit. The only noticeable difference was that there were large slashes in the sky that looked like black holes. It looked like there was only empty space inside of them, and it gave me a hollow feeling. I sighed in relief though, because all of the unbearable pain was gone. Stretching my arms out in the air, I exhaled and closed my eyes, enjoying the moment. A small breeze blew around me, brushing softly against my face for a moment before receding. I relaxed and lay back against the soft, cushiony snow, dozing off a little after a few seconds.

But the moment ended all too soon. My eyes snapped open as I remembered that I was here for a reason. I had only a little time left before I become a 'Hollow'. I sat up on the pile of snow and looked about wildly for the tiger. "Are you here? I need your help!"

There was no storm like the last time when he first appeared. Instead, he appeared behind me, growling fiercely. "It was unnecessary for them to put you through this!" After he showed up though, the wind gradually began to pick up, reacting to his anger.

I waved my arms rapidly to get his attention. "Hey-" I started, but I went quiet as I watched him make a scene before me.

The tiger paced around, ignoring me as he snarled in anger. His tail was lashing about, and for a second I thought I was going to be hit. I shrunk slightly in the snow, fearing his wrath. "Foolish humans, you force a Hollow upon us! One who shall corrupt our peaceful world!" His icy blue eyes narrowed dangerously at the black holes. "My cub is in danger! But no matter, we will get through this either way…" The wind died down and finally he approached me and sat down, his body tense. "Cub, our inner world is collapsing. If you do not hurry, you will become a Hollow. You must find your shinigami powers to avoid this," he raised his right paw and gestured at the black holes, "Before our world fully crumbles down to nothing."

"How can I find my shinigami powers though…?" I asked inquisitively.

"Among the countless snowflakes falling from the sky, only one has your hidden shinigami powers. You must search for the one that has your powers and find it before this world disappears. Find that one." He disappeared in a swirl of snow, leaving no trace of himself behind.

I blinked. What kind of trick is this? There are thousands of snowflakes here! A faint memory of Ichigo echoed in the back of my mind over and over, trying to tell me something. I ignored it, trying to think of a solution to my problem. But it kept on ringing in my head insistently, catching my attention. I gave in and listened.

_Ichigo seemed desperate for me to understand. "You have to find your zanpakuto in your inner world! It happened to me while I was down there; I was sent into my inner world and was told to find my shinigami powers inside of a box! It's impossible if you don't look for the red ribbon, because there are thousands of boxes!" He sounded like he was rambling now, unsure of how to keep my attention focused on him and to understand the importance of his words. "Please…Page, it may sound strange now but," his voice slightly cracked, "I don't know how to explain it…it's just…dammit! Just look for the red ribbon, you hear me?"_

My eyes brightened in realization. _'Of course! Why didn't I think of that right away? Oh wait, I thought he was crazy at the time…Oops, I guess I owe him an apology once I get out of this mess!' _The grin on my face faded away however, when a new thought came to mind. _'But…there's no red ribbon around here! It's all white!' _I looked around the area in confusion, wondering if the ribbon would pop out of thin air.

"Ok then, new plan…how am I going to do this?" The snowflakes danced around me cheerfully, as if mocking me. Suddenly the ground shook dangerously. I almost lost my footing, but as I quickly caught myself from falling I looked around. The black holes in the sky were stretching wider and wider, seeming to stretch down to the land in the distance. As the two connected the land suddenly start to disintegrate into small particles as it was sucked into the empty space. I exhaled sharply. "This must be what he meant when he said our world disappearing."

I carefully sat down on the earth; it stopped shaking moments after it started, as I stared at the black holes in the distance. The world was disappearing quickly, and if it weren't for it being so large, it would have been long gone by now. I shut my eyes slowly, thinking over and over about the red ribbon. _'There must be something different from the ribbon…Think! If it leads me to my shinigami powers, does that mean I have to think about shinigami?' _I paused in my train of thought for a second. The world had shaken again, although this time it was more violent than the first time. The black holes opened wider, greedily sucking in my world before my eyes.

I cleared my head of thoughts about the holes, and continued with my idea. _'Let me see…shinigami are different from other souls, because their job is to slay Hollows, perform soul burial on pluses, and they have spiritual power and a zanpakuto to use in battle. There color would be different, and according to Ichigo, this ribbon is red. So a shinigami's ribbon is red, but what about normal souls? They aren't there to fight; they don't have a zanpakuto or spiritual power. They don't have to do any of the dirty work. There ribbon would be a more peaceful color, like white, the color of surrender and innocence. So I assume that a soul that has shinigami powers has a red ribbon, while a normal soul is probably a white ribbon.' _I breathed out slowly. _'When I open my eyes, I should ignore any white-ribbon snowflakes and focus on the red-ribbon one.'_

Keeping that in mind, I inhaled deeply and opened my eyes to the crumbling world. Ribbons danced around me in the wind, attached to many of the twirling snowflakes, their whiteness blending in with the surroundings easily. I smiled slightly; it worked! I saw a quick flash of red in the corner of my eye and I spun around. There, dancing with all the other ribbons in the air was a bright red ribbon that attached to a tiny snowflake. I grabbed it quickly, pulling it towards me.

The snowflake attached to the ribbon didn't resist at all, I easily pulled it in by the ribbon. I reached out and snatched the ice crystal out of the air, and a huge change came instantly. The snowflake became warm in my grasp, and slowly expanded, lengthening outwards. I almost dropped it in surprise as it formed into a snow-version of a katana, before the snow seemed to give way and fall off, leaving a shining sword with a sharpened blade softly glistening in the light. Its guard was a light turquoise color, leading to the hilt of the sword it turned slightly darker and had tiny snowflake patterns that gave me a firm grip on the sword. I swung it a few times and it sliced through the air easily. It felt as light as a feather, and I lifted it up, admiring it, before I felt a sharp pull behind me. I was swept off my feet and taken out of my inner world.

Pain returned to me again as I heard my screaming loud and clear. I let out a blood-chilling howl beneath a white mask that was forming on my face. I was still standing as I felt the bindings on my arms weaken: I was tearing the bonds apart by pure strength and some weird energy that flowed through my body and around me. I had a hunch that it was my spiritual power, but I had other things to worry about for the moment.

The man sitting in the corner of the shaft slammed his hands into the ground, and began to shout out. "It's at its limit manager!" He didn't hesitate for a second before he bellowed out. "Bakudo number 99, type 2–"

Urahara urgently called to the man below. "No Tessai! She still has a chance–"

Tessai couldn't stop in time. "–Bankin!" After the incantation was said, he couldn't stop the spiritual pressure from overflowing. You're not supposed to stop during the middle of an incantation, because that is just an accident waiting to happen, sometimes it's fatal. And in this case, the strongest Bakudo was said. He would surely die if he didn't finish the incantation. "First song, Shiryuu!" A fabric stronger than steel wrapped around my body tightly, preventing any means of escape. It was pointless to struggle as Tessai continued. "Second song, Hyakurensan!" Numerous large, metal bolts stabbed into me but I didn't feel them because I became numb to the pain.

"Tessai, don't do it! She won't survive it, I barely did!" I heard the panic in Ichigo's voice just then; he was scared out of his mind.

"It's too late! I can't stop in the middle of this Bakudo!" Tessai gritted his teeth and said the final song in a loud voice. "Final song, Bankin Taihou!"

An immense cube appeared high above our heads and began to fall towards me. I swore angrily. _'I'm not going to die after what I've been through…the pain I had to endure!' _I pushed against the bonds furiously, my spiritual energy lashing around me. Suddenly I remembered the blade I held in my inner world. "Of course…" I muttered, "The blade…my…zanpakuto!" My spiritual energy began to freeze the land as it steadily increased. I used all the strength I could muster in one last struggle, the cube falling rapidly towards me. I closed my eyes and imagined my sword. Its turquoise guard, the way it felt in my hands, its lightness…Every last detail I could remember was gathered into my memory.

My spiritual energy burst upwards, and I felt the bonds being ripped away as my sword appeared in my right hand. My nightdress that was tattered and barely covering me disappeared, being replaced by a black shihakusho with a white sash and sandals. I felt relaxed now, at ease that I held a source of protection and strength in my hands.

The cube came upon me, but I jumped upwards out of the hole, dodging it as I went. My spiritual power had increased around me and seemed to protect me like a shield once the cube hit the ground. A grand explosion came forth, and I shot out of the hole and into the air. I could see Ichigo throw up his hands and ward off the wave, but Urahara jumped in front of the kids to protect them. I felt like I was walking on air, but soon I pushed against the air, my spiritual power lessening slightly now that I was out of danger. I landed on the ground gently, even though I had been coming towards it at high speeds. I felt amazing. I felt power running through me, a bunch of pent-up energy that I apparently had been holding back all these years. The land froze underneath my feet, leaving an icy landscape similar to the one in my inner world, without the snowflakes.

The dust in the air that was caused by both the explosion and my spiritual energy cleared, and I could see better now. Urahara was standing up after being pushed over by the energy wave and the kids just sat there, shaken. Ichigo's mouth dropped open like a goldfish; he was staring directly at the mask that covered my face. "Page…?" he called carefully. It came out muffled though and I reached towards my face and pulled the mask off, sighing happily as fresh air hit my face.

I looked down at the mask curiously. It was white and it had a Cheshire grin, its teeth pulling upwards. The eyes on the mask were scrunched up in glee, and a short, white horn curled outwards on both the right and left side of the mask, like a bull's horns. It looked like the face of a crazy, bloodthirsty demon and it gave me chills to stare at it for too long. I pocketed it to inspect some more later.

After pocketing it, I turned back to my cousin. As soon as he saw me safe, relief spread to his face. "Thank god you're all right! I thought I lost you there!" He didn't get to speak for long however; Urahara walked towards me smiling cheerfully.

"Excellent job! Superbly done! The event was almost a complete replica of what happened to Kurosaki-san!" he glanced around at the ice, "Without all the ice, of course." Urahara cleared his throat. "Lesson one, clear!" I glared angrily at him.

"You almost got me killed!" I raised my zanpakuto at him threateningly.

He smiled impishly. "I got your consent; you agreed to it." I scowled and took a step towards him, my spiritual pressure pulsing around me. He clapped his hands together and raised his cane up. "Now, let's head straight into lesson two! Hit my hat off with your zanpakuto! There is no time limit!"

Ichigo stepped forward. "If you hurt her, Hat and Clogs…" he muttered threateningly, "I'll kill you."

Urahara held his cane in both hands lightly, ignoring the threat. "Don't give her any tips Kurosaki-san. She should figure this out herself."

"As if," he snorted, "I can do whatever I want."

I swung my zanpakuto and it sliced through the air smoothly. "I'll get that weird hat off in no time! I don't need any advice!"

Urahara called out cheerfully. "We'll see, Page. Lesson two…begin!" He grabbed the end of his cane and pulled. A hidden blade appeared and my eyes widened in surprise. "I will fight back and try to prevent my hat from being knocked off my head of course." I quickly hid my shock and took a battle stance that seemed to come naturally to me. My knees were bent, ready to leap into action for attacking or evasive maneuvers. I held my blade loosely; the tip of the sword pointing straight at Urahara's hat. I was calm; nothing will happen. He wouldn't seriously be too violent–

Urahara attacked; his blade swinging through the air towards me in a downward swing. I leapt backwards and watched, amazed, as the force of his blade touching the ground caused rocks to go flying in every direction and the earth shook. He easily lifted his sword back up and charged at me, his happy-go-lucky nature gone as it was replaced by a serious expression. I scowled, unnerved as I had to keep evading his attacks. I turned around and ran as fast as I could. Fear was starting to replace the calmness I felt not too long ago, and I had to think of a plan. I probably couldn't beat him in a fight, this being the first time I wielded my zanpakuto. But there was no other way; I don't know any other tricks that would work, and I didn't have any special moves.

The temperatures seemed to drop more and more each second as I gathered up my energy and turned to face him. He didn't pause in his attacks as he swung downward once again. I lifted my sword up and blocked, the earth and snow crunching underneath my feet as I held up the force of his attack.

He mumbled a quick incantation. "Awaken, Benihime."

The blade transformed before my eyes. Its hilt wasn't the handle of the cane anymore; instead it had a crimson tassel that dangled at the end of the hilt. Diamond-shaped patterns were decorated along the hilt to give the wielder a firm grip. It also had a red decorative string wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on one side and a folded paper decoration on the other. It had a razor-like tip, unlike most blades that are sharply pointed. The sword grew in size, becoming a sleek, medium-sized sword.

If I became any more shocked I would have a heart attack. "What...happened? Is that a zanpakuto?" I remembered the incantation he said and repeated his words. "Awaken…Benihime?"

Kisuke stood there, contemplating for a moment before explaining. "Zanpakuto each have their own individual name. This is Benihime, my zanpakuto. If a zanpakuto is sealed, as mine was, it requires a simple command followed by their name. Do you know your zanpakuto's name yet?" His stance was relaxed, though his grip on his zanpakuto didn't loosen nor relax. "I must hand it to you though; Ichigo's sword was huge due to him not being able to control his vast amount of spiritual strength. A zanpakuto's size is based on its owner's spiritual strength. The more spiritual strength their owner has, the larger it is. However, your sword is compressed even though you have a large amount of spiritual power. You have very good control over your spiritual power, unlike your cousin."

"Thanks…" I stared off into the sky for a moment, before returning my gaze to Urahara. "I haven't learned my zanpakuto's name yet. How do you know what the command to release it is?"

"It usually hints to the powers of your zanpakuto, but normally it just comes to you automatically as soon as you realize their name." He got into a battle-ready stance. "Prepare yourself, I'm coming."

I gritted my teeth as the power of his swing seemed to be ten times stronger than before. My knees bent under all the pressure, but I lifted one of my legs and kicked upwards. He caught it easily and, using the moment to his advantage, swung around and threw me across the area. I crashed into a rock cliff and pain started to return to my body. I slipped down the side of the rocky wall into a sitting position, cringing in pain. He walked up to me and raised Benihime. "I told you I wouldn't go easy on you. I do not train weak people who cannot withstand pain." His sword's point touched my neck gently, causing a slight trickle of blood to form.

"I'm not weak." It was barely a whisper, for the blade was still pressed against my neck.

His eyes hardened. "Then prove it." He lifted his zanpakuto from my neck and took a step back. "Get up and fight, stop running like a coward. It will get you nowhere."

I could hardly believe this was the same jovial man who joked around and acted immature. He didn't take any excuses, and looked like he would kill without hesitation. I swallowed nervously, but gradually built my courage up again. I stood up and gripped my sword, and stared at the shopkeeper with different eyes. Fear slipped away and my resolve strengthened. I will win this fight, even if it means killing this incredibly strong man. And if I can't win, then I will die trying. I took a step forward and crouched once again in a battle-ready position. "Here I come," I muttered almost inaudibly. My zanpakuto seemed to hum in approval, its hilt warming beneath my fingertips. The temperature dropped a little more as I concentrated my spiritual energy into my blade.

I charged my enemy, sword raised as a silent battle cry came from my lips. I swung upwards, icy energy flinging towards Urahara. He raised his sword and blocked it, though I noticed a slight difference in his posture. His feet slid back a few inches, and his posture wasn't relaxed but tense, as he fended off my blow. After pushing my sword against his for a second, I leapt backwards and prepared to strike again. My breathing was slow as I assessed the situation in front of me. I pushed him back a little, and he seemed affected by my attack. If I kept it up, I could win. Leaning forward again, I suddenly felt strange. It seemed as if everything was slowing down around me, and although I was surprised, I used it to my advantage. I practically flew forward, my feet only touching the ground once or twice. And then, in what seemed like less than a second, I crossed the few yards that lay between us. My zanpakuto was bursting with energy, eager in assisting me in my fight to win. I moved my sword to my side and thrust it forward at the man, trying to stab him.

His eyes were widened with astonishment. His attacks sped up and he hit my sword to the side before it could impale him. "Shunpo…this is impossible! Never have I seen a beginner grasp the meaning of, let alone perform, shunpo!" He stared at me in wonder. "Then again, this isn't an everyday situation…" he seemed to be talking to himself, and continued muttering as he let his guard down a fraction.

But unlike him, I was still in battle mode. I gathered up my spiritual energy again and raised my blade, planning on making this my final, and most powerful, strike. The air around me seemed to freeze, and my blade was pulsing in my hands readily. I was about to swing downward with all my might when a familiar voice popped into my head.

'**Cub, lets win this battle together. If we are going to use as much strength as we can, then we should give it our all! Now shout out my name! It is–'**

But I didn't need to hear my zanpakuto's name. It flashed into my mind and I said it loud and clear. "Prowl upon the frozen earth, Key!"

The winds picked up quickly, and before I knew it, it was whipping back and forth across the area, raising dust into the air. Ice coated the ground and small snowflakes were flying around wildly. Something popped up onto my head and I reached up, curious. A velvety pair of ears was there, perked up and swiveling back and forth as I picked up the slightest of noise. A long, elegant tail swung back and forth behind me as I calmly investigated the transformation. My black hair changed colors, becoming snow-white. My zanpakuto seemed to melt in my hands, wrapping around them comfortingly as it changed its shape. Before I knew it long, needle sharp claws were attached to knuckle dusters, the knuckle dusters wrapped around my knuckles snuggly, and I gripped the palm grip tightly. Everything around me suddenly stilled, including the wind, and became silent.

I grinned in a feral way, raising one of my hands and pointing at Urahara. "The fight starts for real here and now, here I come!"

The tide has changed, and I was going to use every opportunity I could get to win.

**/**

**Sorry about the late posting; I kinda forgot about how long it has been since I last posted a chapter. It's a little longer than the other chapters, since it's late. Hope you enjoyed the chapter though and I'll post again soon! Review please; it makes my day every time I see one in my mailbox~!**


	7. Academy!

*Urahara's P.O.V.*

Urahara stood there, observing the scene with interest. Ichigo's shikai is a melee type, and by the looks of it hers is too. But he wasn't positive; her spiritual power caused the ground to freeze over and snow to form. This indicates that she has an elemental zanpakuto. So which is it? Could it possibly be both? He decided to observe for now and find out later.

She shifted her position, reaching up to touch the ears now poking out of her head. Her zanpakuto glowed brightly and melted into some type of knuckle weapon with claws that were around six inches long. Her hands tightened around the knuckles, but otherwise she looked relaxed and unsurprised by the release. Her tail flicked to the side as she began to become impatient. A smirk touched her lips as she pointed to him. "The fight starts for real here and now, here I come!"

He didn't answer her and chose to stay silent. He raised Benihime, his attention fully focused on Page. His previous ramblings had ended abruptly as soon as she said her zanpakuto's release, and he stared in awe. When Ichigo achieved his shikai, he fainted immediately afterwards. This was because of the training sessions. They went straight through them all, without a break. He broke out of the Shattered Shaft right before becoming a Hollow, broken out of a high Bakudo, and then achieved shikai without resting and restoring his spiritual energy. Page had done the same thing, yet she looked refreshed and ready to fight. He frowned at this. There was something that he was missing, he was sure of that. Though, even he was unsure of what that missing thing could be.

*Page's P.O.V.*

I spun around in a circle slowly, looking at my tail. I had a slight obsession with tails, for some reason, and this was awesome! Even with all the ice under my feet, I was perfectly balanced and felt like I was in my natural environment. I paused at that thought. Geez, what was I, an animal? My cat ears flicked backwards as I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I spun around and brought up my claws in defense, and did it just in time. His sword was caught between them, and I smirked. I had gotten a little off track after my release, but I have to be serious. My stance changed automatically, the relaxed one disappearing and the more battle-ready one initiated.

Urahara lunged at me, and I dodged. That fast feeling came to me again and then, before I knew it, I was behind his back. Taking every advantage I could get, I smiled coyly and sliced for his hat.

Urahara dodged to the side, holding his hat to keep it from falling off. He wasn't looking where he was going though, because a huge sheet of ice enveloped him and threw him up in the air. Though he landed unharmed, I was smiling widely. My mission accomplished, any of the serious air around me went away, and I laughed. Urahara Kisuke looked unusual without his hat on. His hair was messy, and he looked a lot younger. That made me wonder just how old he was, and I put the thought to the back of my mind for later.

The ice that accomplished the feat for me came back, taking the shape of my zanpakuto, an icy tiger. He roared in victory, and I joined him, laughing happily again. It felt amazing to win, and I wanted to try it again sometime!

"That was awesome, Key!"

"Indeed it was, Cub, though it was a little bit too quick of a battle for my liking," he replied in a rumbling voice.

Urahara called out to us. "Lesson two, clear!" He turned once again into his jovial self and I sighed in relief. When he was serious, it scared the crap out of me. He walked up and stood in front of me. "Congratulations for obtaining your shikai, and I assume this is your zanpakuto…Key was it?"

His eyes glowed a bright, crystalline blue as he purred. "Yes, and you must be the fool who challenged us."

Urahara chuckled and turned to me. "Are you feeling tired, Page?"

I frowned. "I feel fine except…" I trailed off, getting a little bit embarrassed.

"Except what…?"

Key beat me to answering. "She's hungry due to all the spiritual power she has used recently."

I glared at him. "I can speak for myself!" I cried out indignantly. He merely chuckled though.

The icy area remained the same but the tiger ears and tail popped away as I sealed my sword. Key stood up and stretched, letting out a small roar as he yawned. "I enjoyed the fight. I'll be leaving now, farewell Cub." The ice that made up the shape of his body shattered. He was gone.

I huffed and sat down, my fingers playing with my zanpakuto's smooth hilt. Urahara stared at me for a moment before speaking. "Well Page! If you were just hungry you should have said so! We can't have you using up all your spiritual power and then not replenish it! It's unhealthy~!" his voice was cheerful as he continued happily, "Urahara shop is well-known for its cooking! So let's go meet up with your cousin and my employees!" He reached down, holding out his hand to me.

I hesitated for a second but then took his offer and grabbed his hand and he helped pull me to my feet. "Hm, now that I think about it, I haven't seen Ichigo after the fight started, is he hiding or something?" I was amused when a shout came from behind a nearby cliff wall. "I'm not hiding! Let go of me Tessai!"

The man must have released him because Ichigo ran out in his shinigami uniform, obviously bothered that he was held down by the man as he sprinted towards me. He was breathing hard when he reached me, but he caught his breath and stood straight, pointing at Urahara accusingly. "Hat and Clogs! You went way too hard on her! She was almost killed!"

"Kurosaki-san, I treated your training the exact same way. I can't be harder on some students and easier on others!" His fan was in front of his face again as he smiled good-naturedly.

I interrupted Ichigo. "I handled the situation fine! And I wasn't almost killed! I had everything under control!"

Urahara chuckled. "You guys truly are related! Now let's go eat!" His zanpakuto, Benihime, returned to its cane shape as he sealed his sword. He then spun around and strode off, heading back to the ladder.

Ichigo huffed and looked from Urahara to me. "That man is weird." I agreed with him, watching as he grabbed his hat from the ground and continued on. Ichigo spoke up again, but this time his voice was low. "By the way, cool shikai."

"Thanks!" I followed after Urahara, calling over my shoulder towards Ichigo. "Like my new look?" I was referring to my shinigami outfit and he laughed.

"It looks fine, though your white hair and electric blue eyes are very eye catching."

I let out a surprised gasp and looked at the white strands of hair that fell over my face. I hadn't noticed before, and I still couldn't tell now, but according to Ichigo my normal chocolate brown eyes were now electric blue. "What the heck? Shouldn't this have gone away after I sealed my sword?"

"Who knows? Maybe you have white hair and blue eyes now! Reminds me of a captain I know…" a grin appeared on his face, "He's short like you too!"

"I have a sword now you know! Tease me about my height again and I swear Ichigo…" I muttered darkly, "I will kick your ass and wipe that smirk off your face!"

He smirked as he caught up to me and we started walking towards the ladder. "Can you even reach that high, chibi?"

"I don't know, let's find out right now!" I made a fist, but before I could punch him, he ran away, heading towards the ladder as he laughed. I huffed for a moment and sprinted after him screaming wildly. I concentrated as I ran, focusing on that slow motion feeling, and the move seemed to activate under my will. Things slowed down around me and I took another step forward, still sprinting. I appeared behind Ichigo in a flash and tackled him to the ground. "I got you!"

Ichigo looked stiff and surprised at my, as Urahara called it, shunpo. "You're…fast." He muttered weakly.

I ruffled his hair and stood up. "Thanks! I'll race ya anytime~!"

"I can easily beat you in a race in my Bankai."

"I don't know what that is, but my guess is that either way, I can beat you in my shikai. I'm at least ten times faster!" I grinned cheekily and Ichigo scowled.

"Bankai is better than shikai, and each shinigami who obtains it gains separate, unique powers compared to other shinigami. My sword becomes a smaller, black sword and I get a lot faster."

"I don't have this 'Bankai', and I can still beat you I bet!" I was confident of myself, witnessing the speed I gained in my shikai first-handedly.

We stood in front of the ladder and I groaned loudly. I didn't want to climb the damn thing, it took forever! Ichigo looked over at me and smirked. "I don't want to climb this, so ya wanna use shunpo Page?"

I agreed automatically. "Thank kami you said that, because I am _not _in the mood for climbing this huge ladder, let's go."

I willed the power to come back, and grinned in relief as it activated again. I could get used to this. I bent down, wondering how high I could jump up, and took a small leap. I flew upwards and shouted in surprise as the ground fell away from me as I rose high up in the air and landed near one of the top rings of the ladder.

I reached out to grab a ring and missed. I began falling quickly and started panicking. What do I do? "Ichigo!"

Ichigo must have used shunpo because he suddenly appeared before me and caught me in midair. "You don't know how to walk on air?"

"Of course I don't! I just became a shinigami, remember?"

"Hard to believe," he mumbled, "since you already know shunpo."

"Oh," I teased, "you didn't learn shunpo right away?"

He scowled. "It's advanced, so I didn't learn it until a while later. Now stop teasing me before I drop you."

My eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare!" I looked down and it looked like we were at least a two hundred feet up in the air.

"I _will _dare if you don't quit it!"

I clung onto him. "Okay! I get it! Just get us out of this place already!"

He smirked victoriously and used shunpo again. We appeared right next to the trap door that led down to the room we were previously in a moment ago. I released him automatically. "Thanks…where do we go now? I'm famished!"

He chuckled lightly and turned around, walking away as I followed behind him.

He started walking down a different route then the one Kisuke and I took. Before I knew it, we appeared in a small room with a table that was low to the ground with sitting mats placed around it. Urahara was sitting down on one of the mats, waving his fan in front of his face as he saw us approach. Ichigo sat down on a mat and I sat on the one next to him. The small girl, Ururu, popped up with dishes in her hands. My stomach growled loudly as I saw the large assortment of food placed in front of me.

I reached towards the nearest dish on my right and grabbed a piece of chicken. After popping it into my mouth and swallowing almost automatically, I realized just how hungry I was. "Delicious," I closed my eyes happily, "I could eat this all day…"

Ichigo was eating right beside me at a slower pace, though he was still stuffing food in his face. Urahara politely picked up his food carefully; making sure it was cut up small enough to eat, and placed it into his mouth as he chewed for a few seconds. He placed his chopsticks down after a few minutes of eating, and looked up at us. "So Page, what are we going to do with you? It's dangerous nowadays, and I feel a war approaching."

I looked up in surprise. "A war…? If it's a war, can't I just fight?"

"I'm not risking my cousin's life," Ichigo said firmly, "besides; you don't have enough experience in battle."

I scoffed at him. "And you do?"

"Kurosaki-san has fought Soul Society before to save his friend, and he has achieved Bankai," Urahara supported my cousin and I scowled in annoyance.

"I handled you easily once I was in shikai!"

"But who said I was fighting you then? I didn't even need my shikai release. We can't risk putting you on the battlefield, you are too inexperienced and it would be suicidal for you to fight."

"Then what are you going to do with me huh? You can't just give me powers and then push me to the side like I wasn't here in the first place!" I had no clue what I was talking about regarding the war, but I wasn't one to be ignored and looked down on.

"I have a place in mind, and I'm sure the Sotaicho (Captain-Commander) wouldn't mind."

"What does this have to do with Gramps, Urahara?" Ichigo seemed bothered about this 'Sotaicho' person.

"Sotaicho of what…?"

Urahara answered me carefully. "He is Sotaicho of the Gotei 13. The Gotei 13's job is to defend Seireitei, which is located in the center of Soul Society. It is also where shinigami normally reside. The Gotei 13 has to deal with the business of being assigned to the Human World to send souls to Soul Society and to slay Hollows. It has 13 divisions, hence its name, with a captain for each division. The first division's captain is the Sotaicho, who is the leader of the Gotei 13."

"So, what does this Sotaicho have to do with anything?" My question was filled with curiosity, but I still wasn't backing down without a fight.

"I'm going to request if you can sign up for the Spiritual Arts Academy or, as the citizens of Rukongai like to call it, the Shinigami Academy."

"I'm not going to this…school! What can they possibly teach me, Math or something?"

Urahara looked amused. "They teach you how to become a shinigami–"

I interrupted him. "Um…I already became one, if you haven't noticed." I gestured at my shinigami attire and then to my sword's sheath that was on my back.

"–by teaching you Kido (Demon Arts), Zanjutsu (Swordsmanship), Hakuda (Hand-to-hand Combat), and Hoho (Agility). These are all important traits for shinigami, and if you learn and master them it will help greatly in battle and will surely save your life multiple times."

Before I could snap out a comeback Ichigo interrupted me and spoke. "I don't like the idea…I agree with her being safe, but to put her in this 'Shinigami Academy' worries me. She's not dead so she can't join the Academy right?"

"On the contrary, souls are let in. There is no rule stating you have to be dead."

"What are you saying? I'm not going to a school for dead people!" My resolve strengthened, I rejoined the conversation.

"If you are talented enough, you might just be able to join the battle," Urahara said persuasively, "besides, as you are, you wouldn't last against those monsters for long." He saw the glare I was giving him and added helpfully, "I'm not saying you're weak, just inexperienced."

I gave up. I didn't know how to convince them, and at the rate I'm going I wouldn't get anywhere. "I'll think about it." That was basically my way of saying 'yes'.

Ichigo caught on. "I suppose she can go…they won't do anything to her right, Hat and Clogs?"

Urahara grinned and waved the fan in front of his face cheerfully. "Of course they wouldn't! She is the cousin of the famous Kurosaki Ichigo! Nothing can go wrong!"

I scowled in annoyance. "You're not the one who decides if I go or not, Strawberry."

"I told you not to call me that!" Ichigo snapped at me, "and I have every right to decide, Chibi! You don't know about Soul Society like I do!"

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." I stopped talking to Ichigo and looked at Urahara. "So when do I leave?"

"I'll make arrangements to have you leave within the week."

**/**

**I'm soooooo sorry D: I edited this chapter completely on another account on my computer, but then I got a virus and that account got erased before I removed the virus. However, I saved all the files a while ago on this site, but just not the edited version. I was so lazy and had no motivation to edit the chapter all over again, so sorry that it's been two weeks since I updated. Terribly lazy ol' me ^^; I'll try and update within a week, and if I don't then I'll post another long chapter for forgiveness~! Reviews are appreciated, they are the inspiration I need to type on my keyboard :3 Ciao~!**


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